Legend of the Black Fang
by TheGolurker
Summary: In Port Tanzia, amongst various pieces of lore, there exists the legend of a motley group of hunters who saved this bustling hub from a truly infernal fate. The most well-known and arguable leader of this group is known by the moniker of the Black Fang. But, like all legends, he had to start somewhere. This is his story.
1. Deviljho is in the Details

**Author's Note: Hey there! Golurker here with an all new story! As a big fan of MH, I thought it was about time that I wrote something based off the series! With regards to this tale, a couple of things: One, even though many reading this may be intimately familiar with the world of Monster Hunter, I'll do my best to make this accessible to those who aren't, so don't shy away! Whether you're a MH veteran or a MH virgin, I hope to make this an engaging tale that anyone can enjoy! And two, writing action scenes is a skill I constantly seek to improve. Unlike Pokemon, I don't have the luxury of utilizing game text to augment them, which means I got a bit more work to do. So, please, tell me what you think! Is it compelling? Does it flow well? In what areas could it be improved? Same thing for the writing in general. Don't be afraid to give your honest opinion! Oh! And speaking of Pokemon, I'll be writing this concurrently with my other ongoing fic, All Fired Up! If you haven't read it yet, I recommend you go check it out! …In any event, sit back, relax, and enjoy the Legend of the Black Fang!**

**EDIT: I've revised this chapter a bit! Nothing major, just a few minor writing tweaks. Hope you enjoy!**

Hey there. Nice to meet you. It's not everyday I find someone interested in my life, so allow me to introduce myself. The name's Fang, and I hunt monsters for a living. Gender, Male; Height, 5' 3"; Age, 18 (though I don't look that old); Hair Color, Blond; Weapon of Choice, Dual Blades; and I like wearing Bone Armor for the flexibility it gives me. Hmm… Anything else?… Oh, yeah, that's right. I'm also about to get my guts chomped out by a Deviljho.

_**Hunt 1: The Deviljho is in the Details**_

Now, what's a Deviljho, you ask? Lemme put it this way. Imagine a T-Rex had a baby with Godzilla and stuck a pickle on its hind end. Now, beat it with the ugly stick within an inch of its of life, give it corrosive drool, and that's pretty much the gist of it. Seriously, I forget my cache of Dung Bombs one time and that's when I run into this abomination. Hmm… humongous, 2-ton dinosaur versus all 110 pounds of me. Wonder who'll come out on top. …Actually, hold your Kirins, I think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. How about we start from the beginning?

…

Everything started out fine. The air was warm, the skies were clear, and the seas were calm, meaning I was able to get some sleep without feeling nauseous. Great swimmer, horrible with seasickness; there's a certain irony in that. …Hmm? What's with the looks? Yeah, I sleep on a boat, what of it? It's pretty nice, actually; there's a bed and everything. No need to get all judgmental. …Anyway… Exhausted, yet refreshed after a long night of hunting and stargazing, I thought I'd start the day off easy with a Qurupeco quest. After all, what better warm-up could there be other than an overgrown green parrot with a penchant for impressions and starting fires? Not to mention, the hunting grounds were the Sandy Plains, _the_ go-to spot for a side of tanning with your monster slaying. It was perfect. So with trusty dual blades in hand and a meaty breakfast in my tank, I was all set to go.

About an hour later, Hunter Base Camp began to come into view. And quite a view it was. The camp itself was a humble sight, but the sun-scorched landscape surrounding it was far from it. Breathtaking rock formations, towering desert anthills, even the occasional jumping Jaggi; I tell you, it doesn't matter how often you do it, but traveling by airship never gets old. …Well, provided of course that the crew doesn't push you out the starboard side partway through.

_THUD!_

"This is as far as your fee will take you, kid! Felvine prices are on the rise! Nya-ta!"

And soon, the hovercraft becomes nothing more than a miniscule speck in the distance. Stupid money-conscious Melynx. I pay my hard-earned Zenny for this trip and what do I get? A face full of blazingly hot desert sand.

_KRRRREEEEEEEEH!_

Hot sand smack dab in the middle of a squwaking 'Peco's territory, no less. Just my luck. …No wonder black cats get a bad rap.

The verdant-feathered bird claps its wings together, the flint-like growths at the end igniting a few small embers in mid-air. No doubt about it, this thing's in fighting mood. Fine by me! I'm not just some newbie hunter, you titanic toucan!

As fast as I can, I rush it head-on…

"HYAH!"

And lunge forward with both blades, aimed straight at its throat. Small streaks of black lightning surge out of my swords. when I make contact, but the 'Peco seems hardly fazed. Letting out a yellow-beaked screech, it spreads its wings and

_FWOOM!_

Sparks a cloud of flames straight at my face, knocking me back. But it'll take more than that to keep me down. (Thank you, fire-resistant helm.) I ready my blades and take a deep breath.

"Demon Mode!"

With a surge of newfound energy, I charge at the beast and unleash a flurry of slashes.

A left slice to the legs!

Two more to the thigh!

"Hrrrr-RAAAH!"

And another four to the torso!

Unlike my last assault, it actually shows a marked effect this time round: sending the bird into a slap-happy rage. With its paddle-shaped tail, it spins around in an attempt to give me a good slapping. But thanks to a quick evasive roll, I manage to avoid it, but the attacks just keep on coming. As soon as I get up, a ball of a sickly green liquid strikes me square in the face. ...Ugh, I think I got some of it in my mouth! Delicious.

Then adding injury to disgusting insult, it starts pecks at me ferociously from above. Stepping side to side, I get out of the way, and land a couple of good gashes to the gullet. ...And now it's mad. It spreads its wings once again and...

One clap.

Ow.

Two claps.

OW.

And a third, because two painful clouds of fire just isn't enough.

YEOWCH! OH SWEET BLUE MUSHROOMS, THAT BURNS!

Note to self: fire-resistant armor doesn't do a thing if it doesn't cover where you get hit. …Ow, my achin' midriff… This was not the kind of warm-up I was looking for! But as for the 'Peco, none the worse for wear, puffing up its chest like a giant red balloon. ...Great. Once sufficiently swollen, the bird then lets loose an ear-splitting and gutteral roar; the sound of which will be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life (or rather, what little of it I've got left).

_GRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRR…._

I had no idea what manner of monster the avian abomination was impersonating, but I knew it wasn't good. I muster all my strength and sprint ahead again, swords poised to stab the bird right in sac. (…And no, not _that _sack.) Closer and closer, I run through the scorching desert heat, sights set on my target when...

"Now I gotch-AAAAAH!"

A Rhenoplos headbutts me right into a rock wall. ...OK, that's it!

"Whirling Cleaver!"

An advancing barrage of spinning slashes to its head handily subdue the beast. Now, I know what you're thinking, isn't that a bit extreme for a 2 foot tall herbivore following its instincts? No, it isn't. Not if you're trying to take out a monster that'd happily feast on it without a second thought. ...OK, technically the Qurupeco's a piscivore, but still. With righteous retaliation dished out, I resume my advance, but the damage was already done. The ground below me rumbles. Once… Twice… And then-

_GRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRR…._

Say hello to the Deviljho in all it's pickle-tailed glory. ...Which the 'Peco takes as the perfect opportunity to fly away. …I'd call it a coward, but really, could you blame it? Remember what I said before? 2 tons of ugly, raging Godzilla-saurus Rex with black lightning seeping out of its face. To be completely honest, I kinda wanted to run away myself… But not today!

I reach into my pouch, chug down a Max Potion, and face down the threat. Running past its drooling maw, I go straight for the legs, which are so disproportionately small that it's a wonder the thing can even stand.

"Demonic Bladestorm!"

Like a tornado of blade and bone, I land at least a dozen slices on its shins. However, it shows no sign of being fazed in the slightest. It raises its other leg and stomps the ground with its mighty weight, A large tremor erupts from the epicenter of the impact, throwing me off-balance. Not wasting any time, the beast does a complete 180 And sends me flying through the air, courtesy of its giant pickle of a tail. I'd say it's like being hit by a truck, but personally, I think I'd prefer the truck. Pretty soon, I find myself struggling to get up, my vision slightly blurred and body shaking all over.

The 'Jho then turns my way, crimson energy building up in it's maw, and promptly unleashes a menacing stream of pure draconic power. Too disoriented to evade properly, I hold up my blades in an attempt to soften the blow. But to little avail. While some of the power was deflected or even absorbed, I still get sent skidding back several feet and a rather unpleasant shock. For a brief moment, the monster glares at me with piercing eyes, laced with murderous intent. I manage to get up onto one knee in that span of time, but-

_GRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRR!_

That booming roar has me covering my ears to block it out. The beast draws closer, ground shaking in its wake, until its atrocity of a face is directly overhead. I swiftly grab my blades and swing with all I've got. Looking up, I see the monster staggering back, crying out in pain at the X-shaped wound on its face. But despite my little comeback, it's far from incapacitated. An ominous shadow quickly looms, before-

_WHOOOMP!_

One of its legs lands right on top me, pinning me to the ground and knocking out the swords out of my hands. A loud _CRACK!_ also rings out through the desert, accompanying an intense surge of pain. At this point, it's hard to tell if that was my armor breaking or my ribs. Or both. ...Not that it matters much anyway. As I feel the dripping saliva starting to sear into every exposed part of my body, the 'Jho's jaw draws ever closer, ready to have me in time for brunch. And now, we've come full circle. Here I am, defenseless, barely-of-age hunter, about to get eaten by a ferocious toothy reptile. If only I were a princess, some hero would come swooping in at the last second to save me. Sigh… What I wouldn't give to be a princess right about now. Except, you know, male. …But alas, I'm in no fairy tale and I know it. There's not gonna be a glorious Ceadeus Ex Machina to get my butt out of this one. …Yeah, you may want to avert your eyes now. This'll probably get messy…

"Wyvern Fire!"

_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

…Huh. Well whaddya know, a knight in shining armor.

A humongous fiery explosion erupts out of nowhere, blowing the beast flat onto its back. Turning my head, I see a girl in gleaming golden armor, wielding a shield in one hand and a smoking, brilliant bluish-white spear in the other. But before I can say a word, she squats down and lifts me onto her metal-clad shoulder.

"That explosion won't hold it down for long. We need to get out of here!"

"W-wait… Wh-what about… Wh-what about the-"

"Forget about the quest! You're in no condition to fight anything, let alone that monstrosity! We have to go! NOW."

And with her dragging me along, I manage to escape from the blood-stained battleground and off to safety.

…

Another half-hour or so later, we disembark and walk back onto the dock near Port Tanzia's open-air tavern. While aboard the Guild Airship, the crew got the chance to assess and treat my injuries. Miraculously, though my armor was severely damaged and barely holding together, not a single one of my bones got fractured from the incident. I mean sure, we hunters are made of stronger stuff than most regular people, but it's still quite a feat for someone like me. But, that's not to say that wasn't in a heck of a lot of pain. Cuts, bruises, the whole multiple acid burn thing, there was plenty of that to go around. That said, I did get patched up pretty good; apparently Melynx also make great medics, despite their tendencies to chuck Barrel Bombs and, you know, shove people off the sides of airship. …Regardless, I managed to regain enough strength to walk on my own again, at least until taking a seat beside my savior in front of Tanzia Grill, enjoying a post-hunt meal. She takes a small swig of milk before turning my way.

"You're one lucky son of a Barroth, you know that? I was on my way back to Base Camp to complete a quest of my own, when I saw you on the ground, about to become Hunter a la Mode."

"No denying that. I'd've been finished if you didn't step in. Thanks again, by the way."

"Don't mention it. We've got to look out for our fellow hunter, right?" She partakes of the milk once more. "In any case, my name is Lorica, Gunlance specialist. What's yours?"

"Fang. The name's Fang. Dual Blades are my specialty."

The violet-haired girl, upon hearing my answer, raises an inquisitive eyebrow. "…Seriously? Fang? That's your name?"

"What, too weird?"

"A bit, yes. …But then again, I guess it wouldn't be the strangest one I've ever heard." The girl proceeds to down the rest of her drink. "Still, there's something I want to ask you."

"And what's that?"

"What in the world were you thinking believing you could take down a Deviljho?! No offense, but something like that is way out of your league." She takes a glance at my abdominals, or rather, lack of them. "I mean, look at you; at the very least, you could get some armor that covers a bit more."

I didn't have mirror on hand, but I just knew my face turned as red as a Congalala's butt. "H-hey now! I-it just allows for a free range of movement, th-that's all! A-and besides, I'm not as weak as you think I am!"

"This coming from the scrawny kid who almost got killed? Somehow, I doubt-" Cutting her off, I pull out and hand over my Guild Card (don't ask me where I keep that thing), inducing a look of surprise in her face. "…Well, well, what do we have here? A fellow G-Rank Hunter, huh? …Perhaps I spoke too soon." Dang straight, you did. "But still, G-Rank or not, taking on that thing alone is nothing short of foolishness!"

"…Yeah… I know."

"So then why? Why did you charge in all by yourself?"

…Now that was a good question. "I guess I'm just… not the kind of person to run away from a crisis. …Well, that and hunting alone is kinda my thing."

"So you fancy yourself a lone Zinogre, is that it?"

"More like I don't really have anyone to hunt with. Nothing against working with others, but I just don't get the chance all that often." I stand back up and start walking southward toward the Port's Marina. "Anyway, I can't thank you enough for saving my life, Lorica. …But if you'd excuse me, I think I need to go lie down for a minute… or sixty."

"…Wait." She grabs me by the shoulder with a heavy metal gauntlet, a gleam of concern in her green eyes. It throws me off-balance in more ways than one. "If you're looking someone to hunt with, I can certainly oblige."

"…Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course. I don't see a reason why I can't. Plus, there's been a few quests I've been meaning to tackle, and I could use all the help I can get." She leans forward my way ever so slightly. "So, what do you say? Care to join forces?"

I didn't need to think about my answer for a second.

"Definitely."

_And that was the day I first met Lorica. I wouldn't say my past was uneventful- believe me, a bunch of stuff has happened in my 18 years- but for some reason, it just felt like my life truly began that day. Now, what do I mean by that? …I'll get to that eventually._


	2. Grapes of Rath

**Author's Note: Well, college is back in session now. Hooray for slower updates! …Sigh… Oh well, not much I can really do about that. I'm just glad I was able to get it done! As with last chapter, keep the reviews coming! With the advice I got from the previous one, I've dialed back the onomatopoeia a bit, though it's still very much present. Thus is the magic of reviewing, faithful readers! So, tell me what you liked and what could be improved, especially with regards to the battle scenes! But enough intro! Let's get started!**

"So, this is the quest you have in mind, Lorica?"

"That's correct. A gourmet chef is seeking out special ingredients to make a dish for a high-end client. At the top of this list is something said to bestow vitality and vigor to whoever eats it. Giant grape-shaped fountains of youth, I believe he called them. They're quite difficult to obtain, so he decided to enlist the help of hunters, offering first taste to those who complete the task."

"Hmm. Sounds easy enough. …Almost too easy. What's the catch?"

"Well… this wonder food can only be obtained deep in the heart of Rathalos territory."

_**Hunt 2: Grapes of Rath**_

After some time to rest and recuperate, I was all set to go on my first non-solo quest in a long time. My dual blades were as sharp as ever, my pain was pretty much gone and I stopped bleeding out of 12 different places, which was definitely a plus. My body was ready for the hunt ahead. ...Except for one thing.

_Clunk!_

My chest armor falls off, broken into two distinct halves.

"Uh, that… might be a problem."

"Certainly looks that way." Lorica turns around and gestures me to follow her. "Come on, Fang, it appears some repairs are in order."

Back at the Marina, after I take a moment to change into something a bit more decent in the hut next to my sleeping quarters we head across pier to the local smithy. I mean sure, a half-vest and some shorts may not be much, but it's better than parading around practically naked for the time being. Upon arrival, we're greeted by a cheery, reasonably-buff guy with reddish-brown hair in a similarly-colored leather apron.

"Hey, if isn't Lorica! How're things goin' for ya? Still giving those monsters the ol' stab-n'-blast?"

"As always. Lightning Blaze still performs like a dream! Some of your best handiwork yet, my friend. And how about you? Still caught up in a whirlwind of orders?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing I can't handle! It's been a whole year since I started out working here; I'm totally used to it now!"

Naturally, hearing their familiarity left me a bit confused. "Um, you two know each other?"

"Oh, right, I should probably do some introductions first." She clears her throat. "Fang, meet Marcus, aspiring blacksmith and childhood friend ever since we grew up in Loc Lac. He may not have been here the longest, but he's a veritable prodigy at crafting weapons! And, Marcus, this is Fang, a Dual Blades user I saved from the jaws of a Deviljho at the Sandy Plains just earlier today. He may not look it, but Fang here is a fellow G-Rank Hunter. I'm pretty sure he's stronger than he looks." …Not quite the way I was hoping to be introduced, but I guess it works. "Anyway, I know you must be drowning in requests right now, but do you think you could fix his armor? It got broken up pretty bad from the fight."

I lay out my equipment on the counter, which Marcus promptly inspects. A short moment later, he flashes a prideful smile. "Of course I can! No problem at all! As I always say, I can do anything as long as I put my hammer to it!"

"Glad to hear it!"

"OK then! Back in a Flash Bomb!"

And the sprightly blacksmith retreats back into the orange-tinged workshop with a sprint.

While waiting for repairs to get done, I thought I'd take the opportunity to continue the conversation.

"So, what else is on this chef's list besides these special grapes? Is it just a matter of gathering up herbs and stuff?"

"Not quite, Fang. Also on the list are prime cuts of Rathalos Meat, so we're taking this thing down. And not only that, but it's the middle of Rath breeding season and the nearby Yukumo Village isn't interested being attacked by extra-aggressive wyverns."

"Can't blame them there; I wouldn't want my home getting destroyed either. …But first off, I have to ask, where is Yukumo anyway? I've never heard of it."

"It's situated in a mountain range near the Misty Peaks, about 2 hours via airship. I've never been to the actual village, but I hear they have great hot springs." She looks at me intently with those green eyes of hers. "But speaking of asking things, I've got a question for you. Where are you from? Judging from your style of clothing, I'm guessing you hail from a warmer climate?"

"Uh, y-yeah actually, you're right." …Just a couple hours with this girl, and I've never felt more exposed in my entire life. "Moga Village, born and raised."

"That small floating seaside village just a short boat trip away from here?"

"Yep, that's the one. It may not be the largest or most lavish place to live in, but I like it. So long as giant horned whales aren't causing earthquakes, it's pretty peaceful."

She shoots back a confused look. "Giant horned whales?"

"It's a long story."

A brief silence passes, leaving only the distant sounds of pounding hammers, steaming metal, and a domesticated Aptonoth relieving itself in its stable to fill the conversational gap. …Awkward.

"Anyway, Fang, like I said before, we're up against a Rathalos here. Are you prepared? And I mean, completely prepared?"

"You bet."

Remember the last time I wasn't?

_GRRRRRRAAAAAAWWWR!_

Yeah. Wouldn't want that happening again. A winged monstrosity with poisonous claws, fire-breathing ability, and a thick hide of red scales… It may not be a ravenous Deviljho, but it's definitely not something to be underestimated.

"I already stocked up a while back, Lorica. Potions, Mega Potions, a whole cache of Dung Bombs, you name it, I've got it with me."

"Excellent. Looks like we don't have to worry about you becoming a crunchy pile of _jaegar schnitzel _this time arou—"

A voice yells from behind the counter, accompanied by a series of loud footsteps. "Outta my way! Coming through!" Hardly breaking a sweat, the fired-up forger reappears on the scene. "One set of Bone Armor patched up and ready to go, Fang!"

"M-Marcus! Y-you're back! …That was impossibly fast."

"Eh, not really. It's not like I had to make it from scratch. As long as you got some good Armor Spheres on hand, repairs are breeze! Heat 'em up, and they'll bond to just about anything, even bone! It's really just a matter of making sure it's all pieced together right. So take it! Everything's as good as new! Actually, scratch that! I think you'll find it even better than new!"

Naturally, I was a bit skeptical about his claims, but upon closer inspection, I saw my equipment was in pristine fighting condition, free of even the slightest crack. I tap the breastplate a couple times with my finger, and it actually seemed much harder than before. I had no idea how that even worked, but I was grateful nonetheless. I pay the fee, bid him farewell, and change back into my armor, meeting up with Lorica at the airship dock a few minutes later. Spotting me in the distance, she signals the vessel's cat captain, who then shouts out, "All aboard the nyan-stop flight to Misty Peaks!" With me onboard, we then begin our ascent into the clouds.

…

A two-hour ride later, we both disembark at a scenic clearing without incident. Yep, no crashing face first into the ground this time; no one in their right mind is going to mess with someone carrying a 10-foot exploding spear shaped like a lightning bolt. Working together certainly has its perks.

"And here we are! What do you think, Fang?"

A few yards or so ahead, a crystal clear waterfall flows down, forming a wide ankle-deep stream in the green landscape underfoot. All around me, a lush and verdant forest thrives, filled with several different types of trees and bushes. And along the banks, various Neopteran (read insect-like) creatures crawl about business, grazing on mushrooms. So, in short,

"Amazing… I take it you've been here before, Lorica?"

"That I have. Quite a few times actually. I don't have a Map on me, but I do know the area pretty well."

"So, what's first? You wanna search for these rare grapes or should we go-"

Before I could finish my sentence, a faint, but distinct roar rings out.

"Hunting for the Rathalos? Yeah." She points to the wall of crashing water behind her. "There's a cave behind the falls. Get ready."

After stepping through the entrance and shaking off some of the excess water, I find myself in a spacious and surprisingly well-lit cavern. In addition an unknown yellow light source coming from the western side, a rather large ceiling cavity does a good job of illuminating the place. And it's under that leaking sunlight that we can spot a large, spiked dragon, complete with wings, tail, and countless… blue scales. …Of course. It could only mean one thing.

"A subspecies… Well, that changes things a bit."

Monster variants with different appearances and battle tactics. Just what we needed… In this case, the blue Rathalos, or Azure Rathalos as it's officially called, isn't drastically different from its crimson-colored counterpart. Same toxins, same fireballs, same ferocious attitude. But just like virtually every monster subspecies, it does have one major thing going for it: it's just plain nastier in a fight.

"You certainly know your stuff, Fang. …But yes, we definitely need to stay on our toes."

As I unsheathe my Dual Blades, Lorica gestures me again. "On my mark. One…Two… Three!"

In unison, we charge ahead quickly, but carefully, as to not slip on the damp cavern floor. Hearing our echoing footsteps, the dragon turns to face us and lets out a deafening

_RAAAAAAAAWWR!_

The wrathful Rath charges in turn, jaws glowing with intense heat. With another roar, a fireball as big as me flies at frightening speeds toward the violet-haired hunter but…

"Not today!" …Disperses harmlessly against Lorica's large indigo shield. Now that's what I'd call quality craftsmanship. "Fang! I'll keep it occupied in the front! You take the other end!"

"Got it!"

Seeing as it's the only part I can reach (curse you, short stature), I once again go straight for the monster's legs.

"Demon Mode!"

With a surge of energy, I slash again and again in an effort to literally trip it up. It cries out in pain and staggers back slightly, but soon turns my way with its piercing gaze. With fangs set ablaze, it rears back its head and lunges for a bite. I sidestep to the left, giving Lorica the opportunity to dish out a hearty Gunlance uppercut straight to its chin.

"I've got you now!" She then fires off a series of three shots, each one knocking its head upward further than the last. "Go!"

Seizing the opportunity, I dash as fast as I can and go for a lunging upward stab to its chest.

"Hrrr-RAAH!"

But they don't connect. Just before contact, I get hit with a strong wind, knocking me flat on my bone-covered butt. Looking upward, I see the Rathalos flying high out of my reach. The beast redirects its attention to the golden armored girl several yards away, its mouth filling with flames. A fireball shoots out and hits the ground to behind her, quickly followed by another landing to her left. However, none of this throws her off her game as she continues her course ahead. But just a few yards away from the dragon, a third ball of fire hits its mark. For an agonizing few seconds, I didn't know what happened to her. But when the smoke cleared, I got my answer.

"That's not going to work on me!" She blocks it handily and then immediately fires off two shots. However, the target is no longer within her sights.

"Huh? Where'd it go?"

In a blur of motion, I manage to spot the dragon circle around behind her, its talons bared.

"Behind you!"

But unfortunately, my warning was too little, too late. Despite her attempts to dodge, the Rath's claws gash through her left shoulder plate, leaving a rather painful-looking wound on her shield arm.

"Lorica, you OK?!"

"…I'll be fine. It didn't cut that deep. It's the poison we need to worry about." I start fumbling around in my pouch for an Antidote, but she beats me to the punch with her own supply. "Thankfully though, that shouldn't be a problem." In one big gulp, she downs the vial of light-blue liquid and rises back to her feet as if nothing happened. "Let's get back to business, shall we?"

She slams the butt of her weapon on the ground, allowing her to reload and try to blast the beast down from grace. But as the azure King of the Skies continues to circle menacingly over our heads, the girl just stands there, tracking its movements from behind her shield. I was beginning to wonder if should be bracing myself in the very near future.

"Uh, not to be a backseat hunter or anything, but what are you doing? I don't really like the way that dragon's glaring at me…"

"I'm waiting for it get closer. Gunlances aren't exactly known for their range." The Rath then stops and turns, fixated on my purple-haired companion. "Here it COMES!"

I dive off to the side away from the azure behemoth headed straight at us without hesitation. Then I hear two shots fire. Followed by a loud _THUD!_

Looking back up after my… less-than-graceful evasion effort, I see the 'Los grounded, struggling to get back up.

"Now's our chance, Fang! Attack!"

"Got it!"

With its back exposed, I waste no time jumping on and whaling away at the Rathalos' wings, as Lorica slams down her weapon like a guillotine and lets loose at the dragon's face.

"Burst Fire!"

"Whirling Cleaver!"

A large blast and seven alternating slashes later, the beast roars out in pain and returns to its feet. And though damaged and bleeding from the roots, the Rath's wings flap faster and faster, lifting their owner off the ground and out through the ceiling. …With me on top.

"Wh-wh-whoa!"

I try pulling out my blades, but they're both firmly lodged in its bevy of blue back scales.

"Faaang!"

As I hang on for dear life, I grip tightly to my weapons as the Rath tries to literally get me off its back atop the scenic waterfall from before. …The view would be breathtaking if I weren't in mortal danger. It swerves every which way: up, down, side to side; heck, it even does a couple of loop-de-loops! …There was only one thing I could do.

_Bleeeugh!_

…Well, besides that, at least.

"You… are… going… DOWN!"

With all the strength my motion-sick self could muster, I plunge my swords deeper in its hide, sending a surge of black lightning coursing through its body. Its wings flail about wildly as it begins falling…

_RAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!_

And cue the crash landing. The impact sends me flying through the air, blades in hand, hurtling in an arc towards the ground at a speed that I just know would hurt.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"I got you!"

_Whump!_

Skidding back in the shallow stream, the golden-armored hunter catches me handily without losing her balance.

"L-Lorica!"

"Quite the stunt you just pulled there. Must say I'm impressed."

"It's not like I did it on purpose, but thanks."

"…And that you're actually lighter than I thought you'd be."

"Y-yeah, well, being parted from your lunch tends to that people…"

I was half-expecting a twinge of disgust, but she just lowers me onto the river's bank and nonchalantly grabs her Gunlance. "Then I hope that means you're hungry for more, because it certainly is!"

And the dragon lets out another deafening roar and charges ahead. One step… two steps… three steps… and then—

_CRASH!_

It trips over itself, slipping headfirst at our feet. This was it: time for the endgame.

"Hii-yaah!" With a swift downward thrust of her spear, my green-eyed comrade pins the Rathalos' head to the ground below. "Now go!"

"Not a problem! …Demon Mode!"

And that's when things got blurry. A rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins, I just go wild on the monster at hand, not holding back in the least the maelstrom of slashes I unleash all over its body.

"Demonic Echo!"

Several upward slices to the torso.

"Demonic Tornado!"

A series of spinning slashes to the legs.

"Demonic Bladestorm!"

And a flurry of alternating strikes to the wings for good measure.

Before the beast even knows what hit it, Lorica's Lightning Blaze then begins glowing red-hot at the tip. "And now for the coup de grace! Wyvern Fire!"

_KABOOOOOOM!_

And a legion of scaly blue fragments fly off in the explosion. Without so much as a twitch, the once-menacing Rathalos lays motionless at our feet, tongue hanging limply out of its mouth. …We did it.

"Nice work there, Fang! I can certainly see you've earned your rank."

I'd say something along the lines of 'Was there any doubt?', but the answer to that one was obvious. So instead, I just opt for a simple, albeit somewhat sheepish "Th-thanks. You too."

She flashes back a bright smile… And pulls out a short, waist-mounted knife.

"But now comes the dirty part. You got your hunting knife ready?"

"Yep. Let's do this."

With knives in hand, Lorica and I soon start slicing out the select portions of meat as per the request: Rath sirloin, Rath tenderloin, and a nice healthy portion of good ol' Rath tail meat. It was kinda like carving up the gigantic Thanksgiving turkey. Or butchering a scaly cow. …Gutting a giant fish? …Well, whatever it was, it meant I was definitely gonna take a nice long bath once I got back; the whole messy process soaked me in various monstrous body fluids that I'd rather not go into detail about. …But hey! That's one part down! Only one more to go.

"So Lorica, now that Yukumo is safe from being burnt to crisp, you got any leads on those elusive ingredients this chef guy wants?"

"Unfortunately, no. Even in my past hunts, I didn't see any signs of grapes around here, giant or otherwise."

"Does the Quest Info have any more details?"

"I don't think so, but I suppose I could check." She pulls out a small piece of paper and browses it briefly, then flips it over. On the back, there's a couple small lines of handwriting. "Hmm… What have we here… 'P.S. Oh yes, I almost neglected to mention, the grapes I am requesting aren't actually grapes. They don't grow on vines. In fact, they aren't even fruit. The elusive ingredients for which I am searching are in actuality Rathalos—" She abruptly stops reading.

"Huh? Why'd you stop? What's it say?"

"…Look. Just… look."

I lean in closer and read it for myself. "…Oh."

"Care to do the honors, Fang?"

"N-not really, but… OK…"

_SLSH! SLSH!_

_QUEST COMPLETE!_

_There's really no nice way to put this, so I'll just go right out and say it. Today was the day that I castrated a dragon. Yep, that's right, castrated. Emasculated. Neutered like a domestic pet. Luckily for the 'Los, he wasn't alive to feel the pain of _that_ injury, but still. …As a guy, I can't help but cringe a little at its fate. And given we had to wait for the Guild Airship to pick us up, I probably would've dwelt on that unsettling matter more if it weren't for happened next that afternoon…_

"Hmm. You're awfully quiet back there, Fang. Something wrong?"

"O-oh, it's nothing. Just feeling a bit exhausted is all."

She turns my way, and soon dons a bewildered gaze. "Uh, why you walking all cross-legged? …You know, if you need to go, there's plenty of trees around here…"

"No, no, it's not that. I'm just… I dunno, feeling a bit bad for that Rathalos we just—LORICA! LOOK OUT!"

From behind my fellow hunter, a large pink-scaled creature dives down, wings outstretched, at breakneck speeds. With hardly a thought, I push her to the side and lunge ahead with my blades, aimed straight at the monster's chest.

"HRR-RAAAAAAH!"

_RAAAAAAAAAAAWR!_

A deluge of black lightning courses out of weapons and into the entire body of the would-be predator, causing it to convulse violently as it hits the ground. Using all the strength and willpower I've got left, I push them deeper, surging in even more lightning, knocking it backwards through the air. It then lands again with mighty crash… lifeless.

"Haah… Haah… L-Lorica, you alright?"

"F-Fang?! What was… That was… How did you even do that?!"

"I-I… I-I don't know, exactly…"

_Thud!_

I crumple to knees, feeling extremely drained. She then runs to my side with a concerned look in her verdant eyes. As my vision blurs, she appears to mouth some words to me that either look like "Are you OK?!" or "You are so screwed." I'm horrible at reading lips but I guessing it's the former. I wanted to respond, but…

Everything went black.

**Author's Note: Hey again! It's me. Normally, I try not to put two Author's Notes in one chapter, but I just thought I'd say couple more things before the chapter's end. One, yes, the characters in this story call their attacks, and yes, the attack names are faithful to the game's (which this case, being 3 Ultimate's) names. …Except for Fang's repertoire. Aside from Demon Mode, I took a few creative liberties with those ones. Why? Because frankly, "Demonic Echo" sounds way cooler than "Double Slash". Oh, and two, yes, Hunters do indeed have Thanksgiving. Think less Pilgrims and Native Americans, and more Felynes and coexistence.**


	3. Skymerald's the Limit

**Author's Note: With college back, updates have been… slower than I'd want them to. But hey, at least I got it out just in time for MH4U, right? Eh, close enough. Anyway, if any of my All Fired Up fans are reading this, worry not. The newest chapter of that is in the works as we speak! Hopefully, that'll be out in the very near future! To those unacquainted with my** **other ongoing story, if you're a fan of Pokemon, hilarity, and heated battles, I recommend you check it out! It's just a couple clicks away on my profile! As always, don't forget to drop a review! After all, you, the reader, can help shape the future of this story for the better simply by giving some constructive feedback! …But enough shameless self-promotion! Let's get started.**

Opening my eyes, I can see a brilliant starry night sky above my head and feel the subtle vibrations of a soft surface beneath me. The air around me is cool and refreshing and I can hear the sounds of conversation, interspersed with a variety of cat noises. It was peaceful, in a strange sort of way. …Don't tell me this is one of those surreal dream sequences where I start reliving my past or something… How cliché would that b—Oh wait, that's right. Almost forgot I live in a world where talking cats exist.

"Oh, Fang, glad to see you're awake. You feeling alright? You've been out for hours."

…And where a certain violet-haired hunter is concerned for my well-being.

"Still a little tired, but otherwise fine. Thanks for asking."

_**Hunt 3: Skymerald's the Limit**_

It's the middle of the night, and I find myself sitting up on a bed onboard the Guild Airship, still in somewhat of a daze after the hunt.

"So, Lorica, what exactly happened? My mind's feeling a bit fuzzy."

"I can certainly see why. Mine would be too if I slew a Pink Rathian in a single strike. After you collapsed, I carried you back to Base Camp, where the Felyne medics took over. Thankfully though, I didn't run into a lot of trouble on the way there. Sure, there was the occasional Jaggi here and there trying to take a bite out of you, but they weren't all that hard to deal with." She lowers her head slightly and breathes a sigh. "Still, I should've known there would be one of those in area, especially during breeding season. They're the mates of choice for an Azure Rathalos. I knew I should've kept my guard up…"

"…W-well, hey, d-don't worry. At least you made it out safe and sound, right?"

She pauses, then gives a small grin. "I should probably be saying that to you. You were the one who fell unconscious back there." She then looks at me straight on with those green eyes of hers. "Which reminds me, I'm still curious about something. Are you sure you don't know how you managed to slay that thing? Those blades of yours definitely are anything but run-of-the-mill."

"I wish I did, but I don't. I've had them for a good long while now, but they never did anything like that before."

"I see… Perhaps we can have Marcus take a look at them tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be able to shed some light on the matter."

The ship then begins to slowly descend.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen, we have ny-arrived at Port Tanzia. Remember to take all your belongings with you and as always, thank mew for flying Guild Airlynes."

Once at the dock, we disembark and head back to the Marina, where a ferry awaits past the Aptonoth stables to take Lorica to her home in Port's residential area.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now. I take it you're back off to Moga, Fang?"

"…Actually, I'm feeling so beat right now, I think I'll just camp out on the boat again. It's been a long day."

"The villagers won't wonder where you are?"

"Hey, I may not look it, but I am old enough to live out on my own, you know. …And besides, I haven't really been to the village in while. It's not like they're expecting me or anything."

"I see, I see. Then enjoy your seaside slumber." She takes one step onto the ferry and turns to face me again. "But you know, I've never visited Moga before either. Maybe someday you could show me around the place."

…Gotta say. That girl sure knows how to catch me off-guard. "O-oh! Y-yeah, sure. I'd be glad to. …Someday."

And on that awkward note, she boarded the vessel and bid me adieu.

The next day, I didn't even wake up until the sun was shining directly down on my face. When I said I was beat last night, I wasn't kidding. It was already lunchtime. I almost fell over just trying to get out of bed and I didn't even change out of my armor last night. Oh well, if anything tried to attack me in my sleep, I was totally prepared! …Anyway, off in the distance, I could spot a gleaming golden figure and hear familiar voices amidst the bustle of activity. So as fast as my still-drowsy body could take me, I run over to investigate.

"Jumpin' Jaggi! This is some good stew! Where did you get it, Lorica?!"

"Oh, that? It was just a reward from the quest yesterday. I, uh, had a big breakfast and it seemed a shame to just let it go to waste."

"I'd say! It's delicious! What's in it, anyway?"

"It's... um… a secret recipe."

As I walk closer, I can see that it's none other than the violet-haired hunter and her blacksmith friend. Marcus voraciously shovels down a couple more spoonfuls before taking notice of me.

"Oh! Hey there, Fang! Glad ya could join us!"

…

"Hmm…" With discerning gaze and full stomach, Marcus casts his expert eye over my weapons. "H-hey! Wait a second!" …And promptly almost shouts my ears off. "This silvery luster, this exquisite craftsmanship… You were right on, Lorica, these are no ordinary weapons!"

"Oh, so you've seen this type of blades before."

"Seen, no. Heard of, yes." Immediately, the smith's eyes light up like hot forge. "They're part of a legendary category of weapons known in the smithing community as the Ancient set! They're extremely rare! So far, only about eight of have been discovered fully intact! The remnants of bygone civilization, these weapons are perhaps their greatest known legacy!" He points one of my swords skyward, allowing it to gleam in the sunlight. "According to the ancient texts, these blades are known as the Enduring Sacrifice. The alloy it's made of not only helps retain its edge, but is also remarkably lightweight! And though it also means it doesn't have much in way of raw strength, locked away within them is the power to slay dragons!"

Wow. I knew my blades were pretty reliable, but this was all news to me. "That's… pretty impressive."

"'Pretty impressive?!' More like absolutely incredible! How in the world did you manage to get your hands on those?!"

…Another good question. "Well… they actually belonged to a friend of mine. He doesn't use them anymore, so I've been using them ever since. Not sure where he got them, though. …But still, felling a monster like the Rathian in a one blow? How come that kind of dragon-slaying power never showed itself before?"

"Truth is, I'm not really sure. Roasting some small fry like the Great Jaggi, I could see happenin', but a Rathian… Perhaps you lucked out and hit a vital area?"

"I don't think that was the case," Lorica interjects. "From what I saw, it wasn't some 'stab-and-drop-dead' type of situation. The beast was convulsing uncontrollably and black sparks were flying everywhere. If that was just some sort of fluke, then my hair isn't purple."

"Hmm, I see…" The blacksmith's brow furrows tighter. "If that's the case, then there may be one other explanation. The Guild's scholars found a whole bunch of scrolls related to these weapons' origins, wielders, stuff like that. In one of those texts, it is said that their true power is unleashed when—"

_SAY WHAAAAAAT?!_

A high-pitched scream pierces the atmosphere from the direction of the tavern.

"Hey, d'you guys hear that?"

"Yeah. Wonder what's going on."

And with those words, Lorica and I race ahead across the bridge to find a girl around my height with a pink ponytail and an indigo-and-red suit of armor. And strangely enough, the helmet she wore had what looked to be… a pair of bunny ears. Right at the gate leading to the airship dock, she's yelling vehemently at a trio of other hunters, wielding some very impressive-looking Bowguns, not unlike her own (which, despite what the name might imply, is actually more akin to a rifle than a crossbow).

"What do you mean you won't let me join you, huh?!"

The middle man with an eye-obscuring navy blue hairdo speaks up for the group. "Sorry, but we can't accept just anybody. After all... To sleep, perchance to dream… To monsters, we say 'Nay!' and blast them into oblivion! Masters in the art of sleepbombing tactics, we are…" His two helmeted sidekicks then join in unison. "THE SOMNUS SQUAD!" A brief silence passes, along with no shortage of blank stares, before the squad's spokesman continues. "But yes, we are very selective in who we recruit. An elite group such as ours simply cannot take in every person who asks us.

The rejected hunter gets even more riled up. "So what, you sayin' I'm not good enough?! I'm not strong enough for your little boy band or something?!"

"Oh no, it's not that. We just don't believe you have the firepower we require. Nothing personal."

"…What? I don't have the FIREPOWER?! REALLY?!" And that's when the girl snaps like a raging Diablos. Grabbing her own firearm, her eyes burn with anger as she opens fire like a maniac. "LET'S SEE HOW LACKING YOU THINK IT IS NOW!"

_B-B-B-BAM! B-BAM!_

The erratic barrage of bullets quickly drives away the Somnus Squad and most everyone else in the tavern in a frenzied panic, like a… like a… Hmm. What's a monster that can send things into a frenzy? Uh… UH… Eh, never mind, it'll come to me later. Anyway, in the midst of all that chaos of people and flying projectiles, there was only one logical thing to do.

"Hey, stop that! I dunno who you are, but if you keep shooting like that, you might hurt somebo—"

_WHACK!_

…And approaching the trigger-happy hunter was not it. She hits me in the side of my helm with her gun butt and the next thing I know, I'm lying flat on my back.

"HUH?! YOU GOT PROBLEM WITH THAT, YOU SNOT-NOSED BRACHYDIOS?!"

"Uh, yeah! I do very much have a problem with that!" …Is what I would've said. But with her armored knee pressing down on my stomach, it came out more like "U-u-unngh…"

_Cue the pin attack Escape Gauge._

With her going on a profanity-laden tirade, I tried struggling free, but it was of no use. Until…

"OK, that's enough there, Little Miss Firecracker." My violet-haired comrade picks her up by the underarms and intervenes. The pink ponytailed pugilist attempts to fire off even more shots, but is handily stymied by the hold. All she can do is flail around like a freshly-fished Plesioth.

"Let me go, you stupid—URRFF!"

Complying with the girl's demands, Lorica does indeed let her go onto the stone floor before helping me get back up. "Like Fang was saying, stop that. Someone could get seriously hurt."

…Whoa. I've seen her blast giant monsters before, but… That. Was awesome.

The fiery-tempered female takes a deep breath and slowly rises to her feet. "All right, all right, I'll stop. Don't get your golden armor in a twist there, girly. For the record, I was only firing Paint shots. If I _really_ wanted to mess 'em up, I would've done it already." Well, that's a relief. …Sort of. "Anyway, sorry 'bout that. I just get really riled up sometimes." She offers me a handshake to try to make peace. "The name's Ira. Ira Fervens. Nice to meet you."

Not wanting to incur her wrath again, I tentatively accept. "Uh, y-yeah… P-pleasure to meet you too. I'm Fang. …Just… Fang."

"So," Lorica interjects, "that was quite the spectacle you put on there, Ira. You wanted get in that badly, huh?"

"Well, obviously! When you've made a big name for yourself like they have, you get to go on all the best hunts! Face off against the biggest and baddest monsters! Get half off on all meals at the tavern! …Which is why I need your help getting what I need to take my weapon to the max!"

…That was… abrupt. "Hey, uh, no offense, but… why would we help you?"

All of a sudden, Ira grabs my hand again with a death grip and a smile-turned-sneer. "Because. I asked you nicely. Got a problem with that, Fang-face?"

"Hey now, play nice."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Goldie." And she lets go.

"But yes," Lorica continues, "Fang has a point. Not only did you smack him upside the head, but after that big fireworks display, do you really think they'd still take you in?"

"Like I said, I'm sorry, OK? Won't do it again, promise. And the Somnus Squad? Please. I'm so over those elitist Poogies. Once I upgrade me Bowgun, I'm totally gonna show 'em whose boss! Then we'll see who gets half off all their meals! AAAAAHAHAHA!" …OK. She cackles like a maniac too. That's good to know.

"Well, you're certainly enthusiastic, I'll give you that. …I suppose we can at least hear you out. What exactly are you are looking for?"

"Actually, I've got pretty much all the things I need already… Except for one. The elusive shining black jewel known as the Skymerald, found only in the fiercest of the Fanged Wyverns: the Stygian Zinogre!"

…Now that's some high-level game. Zinogres are pretty tough as is, but from the looks of it, Ira here wants to take down a souped-up version. I didn't even know the thing had a subspecies to begin with! This is definitely not gonna be a walk in the Quru-park. (And that's not even mentioning the myth of the Desire Sensor, an invisible and mischievous entity whose one purpose in living is manipulating fate to deny hunters the treasures they seek. Superstition, I know, but still.) I look over to my left, curious as to how Lorica would react. …And a subtle smirk wasn't quite what I was expecting.

"What a coincidence. I was planning on hunting one myself. I was saving that quest for later, but I suppose now's as good a time as any. Might as well get all the help we can get." She turns my way. "If that's fine with you, of course, Fang."

"…As long as she doesn't pin me down like a Deviljho again, you can count me in."

So after promptly packing our pouches and a quick pre-hunt meal, three of us board the airship bound for the sweltering hunting grounds of the Volcano.

…

An hour-and-a-half later, the vessel drops us off at the apex: the mouth of Ignis Mons, as it's formally known. With the price of Felvine down again, the Melynx crew would've been perfectly content dropping us off at base camp for once… if it weren't for a certain pink-haired hunter's insistence to, and I quote, "get us off this Duramboros piece of junk before I start bashing some heads in." I'd say why Ira got all mad again, but frankly, I don't know either. All I heard was a plethora of bad cat puns. …Regardless, as our pilots flew back to the port, tails literally between their legs, we disembark onto the scorching ground below. And immediately upon doing so…

"Whew, I feel like a Well-Done Steak up here…" Lorica expresses her disdain for the heat. Can't say I blame her, though; molten lava tends to do that people. Luckily though, I came prepared.

"Here. Two homemade Cool Drinks, mixed by yours truly."

My green-eyed companion says her thanks and promptly partakes of her share with a smile. Ira, on the other hand… not so much.

"Gimme that!" She snatches her bottle out of my hands and chugs it down with surprisingly loud—

_BURRRRRP!_

…How charming. After using her gauntlet as a napkin, the bellicose belcher then looks back at me, slightly less edgily than before. "Hmm. Not bad. …So, Bone Head, ya made one for yourself or what?" Keyword: 'slightly.'

"I'm good actually. Upshot of wearing light armor like mine is that it's good for dealing with heat. …And to be perfectly honest, I can't drink the stuff. No matter what I add, nothing can quite get that buggy taste out. Blech… But that's beside the point. If everyone's all set, then let's get this done, shall we?"

"Way ahead of you." Within the span of my short little monologue, the poster-girl for pugilism managed to sneak off to a sheer cliff over to our right. "Last one down's a rotten Wyvern Egg." …And she leaps off. We run as fast as possible to the jumping point, where a voice speaks from beyond a thick cloud of smoke.

"Hey! C'mon guys! What're ya waitin' for?! We've got a big bad wolf to hunt!"

…Well, here goes nothing, I guess.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA—OOF!"

Yeah… that landing could've gone better. …Oh well, at least Lorica ought to have better luck with tha—AAAAAAACK!

_WHUMP!_

"Oh! Fang! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there! Are you OK?!"

"D-don't worry about me… I-I'll be fine… Owww…."

Some Mega Potion and aggressive chiropractics later, the three of us are once more on the move, searching the volcanic fields for our Stygian target. Just another day in the life of a hunter. So with Ira walking on ahead, I thought it was the perfect time to strike up some more conversation.

"So, Lorica, you said you'd already planned on hunting Stygian Zinogre, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Any particular reason why?"

"Well, the first time I faced a Zinogre, I had a difficult time taking it down. They hit hard, can stun you with electricity and, despite their size, they're very light on their feet, er, paws technically. My old teammates and I hit a complete wall until we finally got act together. But that was a long time ago. So, with a new team and a subspecies on the prowl, I thought I'd take the chance and see how much I've improved since then."

"Oh, so you want to test your skills, basically."

"Pretty much."

"…Huh. Never would've guessed that. Having seen in you action, I'd say you're plenty skilled already."

"Aw, thank you, Fang. I'm flattered! …But still, hunts like these are good practice. We can't end up becoming complacent in this line of work, now can we? Get even a little rusty, and that's a one-way ticket to becoming monster chum." Can't argue with that. "In any event, since were on the subject of reasons, what about you? What are you fighting for? Everlasting peace?"

"Something like that, yeah. Back at Moga, I helped around the village a lot, gathering resources and defending against monsters in the area. You know, Jaggis, Ludroths, the occasional electric sea serpent, that sort of thing."

"I see. And you're not anymore?"

"Well, since the giant, quake-causing, horned whale got taken care of, things have gotten pretty quiet actually. …Not that I don't like a little peace and quiet, but hunting is my life and they're all doing just fine."

"Ah. A Hunter through and through. …Yep, I was definitely right about you."

"Right about what?"

"You really are stronger than you look."

"Heh heh! Heh heh. Heh…" …Pretty sure that was a compliment!

However, not everyone is all smiles, as Ira stops in her tracks, arm outstretched. "Hey, you two, hate to interrupt your little love fest, but it looks like we've got company." She points to a cave in the distance, upon which emerges a glowing mass of crimson energy. With weapons at the ready, we cautiously step forward across the lava-lit landscape where we soon see the beast in its full, hellish glory. It continues its advance on four crimson-taloned paws, two menacing gray horns held high, and claw-shaped tail poised to strike. Lining its body is a coat of monochrome fur, arcing with the all-too-familiar sable sparks of draconic lightning. So, what's black, white, and red all over? A Stygian Zinogre.

As we continue our approach, our team's resident Bowgunner starts giggling with a devious smile. "Hee hee hee… HAHAHAHAH! Now we get to the fun part!"

"All right, Fang, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be, Lorica."

With a unanimous shout, we all arrive at the same 4-word conclusion. "Then let's do this!"

The beast responds with a deafening howl.

_AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_


	4. Underworld of Hurt

**Author's Note: And welcome back, faithful readers, for the long-awaited 4****th**** installment of Legend of the Black Fang! Yet another story update several months in the making… My apologies for keeping you loyal fans waiting. But after many revisions, a stroke of inspiration, and beating the schnitzel out of more monsters, I finally managed to finish this one! I've also taken the liberty of doing some minor revision of my past chapters, so feel free to check them out! Many thanks to Wood Dog and Ysavvrl (at least I think that's how you spell it) for your in-depth reviews! Your advice has been taken to heart! **

"Watch out!"

Leaping across the lava-lit landscape, the Stygian Zinogre lunges straight at us with a black lightning-charged claw. Not wanting to get squashed, Lorica and I hop out of the way as the impact sends bits of volcanic rock flying in all directions. However, with Felyne-like reflexes, Ira rolls sideways with a smirk on her face.

"Attacking right off the bat, are you, wolfy? That's awfully tenacious!" With a loud click, she loads up her firearm. "Heh heh heh…I like tenacious!" Six shots fire out in rapid succession, striking the beast's shoulder in a burst of white sparks. But the beast is hardly fazed. It skids around in a half-circle, ready to pounce. One swiping advance leads into the second, drawing every closer to the indigo-clad Ira who, ironically, seems to keep her cool. "Come at me! I dare ya!"

A full body tackle does just that, but hits nothing but air. The gunner rolls to the side again, loading more shots into her firearm. "Eat some o' this!"

A large projectile fires out in an arc, landing squarely on the hellhound's back fur—

_B-B-BOOOM!_

—And promptly explodes on impact into a spectacular cloud of fire

"HAH HAH HAH! Like my Cluster shot, you son of a—"

_AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

I'm no expert in monster speak, but I'll take 'deafening roar' as a no.

_**Hunt 4: Underworld of Hurt**_

"Heads up, Bone Head!"

Our foe then turns to face me and Lorica, staring us down. Instead of charging at us again, it just stands in place, charging up the fur on its back. Now, I haven't really fought that many Zinogres before, Stygian or otherwise, but as a rule of thumb, when a monster starts gathering energy, that's not a good thing. It had to be stopped. Ira unloads more of her initial Thunder-infused shots, but something told me that wouldn't be enough.

"Demon Mode!"

Right diagonal slice to the chest! A horizontal one with the left! Two upward slices, and then finish up with a cross slash! With each attack delivering a dose of the Zin's own black lightning medicine, I can't help but feel a little confident. But off in the distance, I hear the golden-armored Gunlancer shouting, "Fang! Get out of there!"

"Huh?"

Looking up, all I can see is Zinogre muzzle, twisted in devilishly toothy smile. My whole field of vision goes black as a surge of sable sparks erupts underfoot, sending me flying.

"AAAAGH!"

Cue the extra-loud THUD!

With me flat on my back, 4 red crackling orbs then start closing in overhead. 4 very painful-looking orbs.

"Th-this doesn't look good!"

"Not so fast!"

As the crimson ball lightning closes in, a golden blur flies through the air and blocks their path.

"You holding up down there, Fang?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Good!"

Lorica redirects her attention to the enemy and dishes out 3 good stabs to the snout, followed by a small explosion.

"Now don't get reckless. You can get a few free hits in that charging stance, but you need to back away before it unloads!"

"G-guess I learned that the hard way, huh? Sorry 'bout that."

"Just be more careful, OK?" She extends her hand and pulls me back onto my feet. "My old teammates weren't, and, well, things didn't turn out so good."

"…Didn't turn out so… What does that—"

A loud shout cuts me off. "YO! Goldie-o and Bone-liet! If you got time to yap, then help me fight this thing!"

…OK seriously, where does Ira come up with all these weird nicknames? Off to my left, she reloads her rifle atop a large slanted rock and fires off another shotgun barrage of bullets.

"Eat Pellets, you devil dog!"

The canine in question is hit head-on, but only slightly stumbles. The wolf flips twice in midair, and four more red orbs form. They start to home in on at the pink-haired hunter, but she handily dodges each one as they come her way.

"Hmph! That all ya got, wolfy?!"

The answer to that question: no. The monstrous hellhound leaps straight at her, crashing down, backfirst. The impact zone immediately erupts in debris, bolts of black lightning, and what appears to be tiny shards of broken armor.

"IRA!"

Wasting no time, Lorica and I run to her side in a panic. But as the saying goes, you can't keep a good 20 foot tall dog down.

_WHAM!_

A large 5-taloned paw slams the ground right in front of me, followed by another hammering its full weight down on Lorica's shield. With both hands, she's able to keep from being pancaked, but it still brings her to her knees.

"URRF! Well this is… heavier than I thought…"

I take both my blades and swing them into the crushing claw to try and throw it off balance, but it doesn't do much. If anything it did less than before: no sparks and barely any penetrating power. Something's not right here.

"Th-this is… getting difficult…"

OK, I'm not sure what's going on, but I sure as heck am not going to give up. C'mon blades, you've pulled through before, so don't fail me now!

With all I've got, I go for another swing… With the same result. OK, forget this!

"HYAAAAA!"

Forgoing my weapons, I go for a full-body tackle myself to get my purple-haired partner out of harm's way. This time, it gets the job done, knocking the both of us off to safety

"Haah… haah… Thanks!"

"A-any time!" Using both hands, I help her get back on her feet as the beast charges at us again. As we side roll in opposite directions, Zin then skids around, tail sweeping through the air. However, despite almost being crushed, the golden-armored girl quickly reacts and retaliates… with a Lightning Blaze suppository.

"I'm not done yet!" She presses a button on the handle, and… ouch. It doesn't matter how big and tough a monster you are, but a Gunlance blast in the backside would be a world of pain for anything on the receiving end. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. (…No pun intended.) So unsurprisingly, that, uh, anal assault sends the craven canine running away into the next area.

"W-way to go, Lorica!"

With crisis temporarily averted, we get a much-needed breather to assess our situation, in particular, the status of our downed gunner, lying motionless in a shallow crater nearby. Things… didn't look good. Her indigo-hued armor was cracked all over, her pink ponytail a tattered mess. The only thing left in remotely decent condition is her rifle, which appears to have been knocked out of her hands from the impact into a pile of rubble. …This can't… Not again….

"…Ira? Ira! You… alive?" …There is no response. I try shaking her shoulder a couple times, but she just lays there. I try searching for other signs of life… But find none. "Don't tell me… D-don't tell me that—" At least at first. "HUNH?!—MMPH!"

Her hand shoots up, grabbing my face with her gauntlet. She opens her eyes and, after spitting out what appears to be a bloody tooth, speaks out. "…Heh. As if that'd happen. I may not be kicking, but I'm alive alright." …Must say, that girl's got moxie.

Lorica helps her up to a sitting position, while I dig out a yellow vial of Max Potion from my pouch to help Ira recover. She promptly partakes and soon shakily gets back on her feet, much to our relief.

...Hmm. Now that I think of it, I haven't really gotten into how these things work, so I guess now's as good a time as any. As you might expect, these Potion items—Mega, Max, Ancient, what-have-you—help in restoring the consumer back to peak fighting condition. It does this by basically turbocharging the body's natural healing abilities. But as quick as it may be, its effects aren't immediate, though that should be obvious as such a miracle drug couldn't exist in real life. What'd you think this was, some sort of video game? No, where these things really shine are their painkilling properties. While the healing takes place, the fast-acting painkillers kick in, letting a hunter jump right back into the fray as needed. That said though, these things aren't perfect. They can't really treat heavy bleeding or broken bones, new injuries still hurt like heck and there is the occasional side effect of involuntary arm flexing, but all in all, not bad for what amounts to a soup of bugs and mushrooms.

However, there's another symptom that I get the feeling would need something other than fungi stew to fix. While scanning my body for injuries, I notice something… weird.

"I'm… sparking all over."

As does Ira. "Same here. What's up with that?"

Lorica quickly answers, "I do know Zinogres have power over electricity, at least the regular ones. Get hit by strong enough jolt, and it'll leave you stunned. But this thing's different. Those black sparks… They remind me of—"

"What my blades generate, am I right?"

"Yeah, that and the Deviljho. Does that mean—"

"Mmm-hmm. Those black sparks, they're the telltale sign of Dragon element at work. Somehow, this Stygian version must've found a way to harness it!"

"Well," Ira interrupts, "thanks for the lesson, Fang-face, but I think I'd rather know what this stuff's gonna do to us!"

"I'm… actually not sure, but I know there's a way to make it subside. Of course, we could just wait for it go away over time—"

"Yeah, I'm not waiting for that." Cutting me off, the pink-haired hunter promptly grabs her Bowgun and begins walking off.

"Ira?! W-wait! Hold on a sec!"

"Hey, I dunno about you, but I'm all set to keep going, and I just got body slammed by Wolf-zilla. So hit me up with another Cool Drink, and let's get a move on already! Or have ya just gone Bone-less?"

"Actually, Ira, I was going to say that you're heading the wrong way. The trail of butt blood's over here."

"Oh. Right. …I knew that."

Hot on the Zinogre's sanguine trail, the three of us continue on, descending deeper into the volcanic depths into a secluded valley. And living up to her words, our fervent Gunner does seem to be holding up just fine. …Except for one thing…

"Umm… Ira? Are you sure you can keep going? Your right arm doesn't look too good." I think the technical term is "dislocated".

"Huh. Now that you mention it, it does look a little outta place. Hold on..." Using her other arm, she grips her right shoulder and—

_CRACK!_

"There we go!"

…Snaps it back into place. "H-how did you—"

"I fixed your back and you're still confused?" Yes, yes I am. "That was just a little trick I picked up a long time ago. My family's part of this international trading company. Kinda like a caravan, except lots more boat travel and pointy-eared guys. People's bones'd get outta place all the time 'cause of all the heavy lifting, so it came in pretty handy."

So her chiropractic skills extend to limbs as well. …That actually is good to know. …Of course, that probably also means that she could just as easily mess up someone skeleton, but… OK! Not gonna think about that right now. After all, there's a hellhound to hunt.

_AWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

Directly ahead.

So once again, Lorica and I charge ahead, hunting implements at the ready, while our Gunner attempts to provide some covering fire. ...Emphasis on "attempts". She gets her shots off just fine, but…

"What the—?! None of 'em hit?! What the heck is wrong with me?!"

I'll admit, that took me by surprise too. This maybe my first hunt with Little Miss Intermittent Explosive Disorder, but she hasn't missed a shot yet. That doesn't mean that the rest of us won't hit our mark though! Lorica unleashes another trio of well-placed stabs, which visibly dig into the monsters flesh. Targeting the newly-opened wounds I follow that up with a jumping uppercut of slashes! …But it felt like hitting a brick wall. ...So, that's what's happening with me, huh? Guess there's only one thing to do.

"Lorica!"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I'll need you to cover us for a little bit!"

"Not a problem! But what exactly are you—"

"I'll explain later, I promise!"

"OK then, but be quick! I don't know how long I can keep this thing's attention!"

And with an affirmative nod, I start scouring the area for any signs of plant life. I know it seems weird, and let's face it, it kind of is, but I can assure you that I haven't gone temporarily insane.

Behind me, the frenetic sounds of battle rage on. The green-eyed Gunlancer fires off multiple shells, while our resident Gunner fires off… some more fowl language. And yes, I do mean "fowl".

"What ya doin', ya Gargwa-ntuan idiot?! Get back in the battle! Don't you dare Kut-Ku out on us!"

As anyone with a pink-haired hothead shouting out them would do, I face her, about to protest when… I find exactly what I'm looking for, a few feet behind her.

"Yeah! That's right! Get back over here, Bone Head! Just what were you doing running off like a— HEY! LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M SCREAMING AT Y—" Her tirade is put to an abrupt halt as I shove a few light-blue berries straight from the vine and into her mouth. "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU THAT FOR?!"

Chomping on some of the fruit myself, I quickly start explaining so as to not get a gun butt skull-bashing. "Those were Nulberries. They may not seem like much, but they can cure a slew of things! Namely, Blights."

"Blights?! What're ya even talking about?!"

"The sparks that we saw! That was a condition called Dragonblight! The effects vary from person to person, but it generally weakens hunting performance! In your case, I think it was throwing off your aim!"

"So that's what it was? You really are quite the brainiac, Bone-iac."

_BLAM!_

GAAAH! Right in the midriff again! "Now what was THAT for?! I was helping you!"

"Yeah, and now I'm helping you. That's a Demon shot. Figured you'd like a side of attack boost with those berries. Go wild."

"Oh, uh, thanks, I appreci—GWAAAAH!"

And of course, by "appreci—GWAAAAH!" I mean, "there's a girl in golden armor flying towards us; it'd be best to get out of the way." Lorica tumbles past us, stopping only upon reaching a steep cliff face. But despite how painful that looked, she props herself back up on her weapon, seemingly unfazed. "You two seem to be well. Definitely less electrified than last I checked."

"True that, Goldie. Bone Wonder here's quite the botanist."

"…What's she talking about, Fang?"

"Nulberries beat Dragonblight. It's not something you see very often, but it's good to know."

"So that's what you up to… I didn't think this place would have any around here!"

"Well they're pretty hardy and volcanic soil is great for plants. I'd be surprised if there weren't any growing somewhere."

"Wow! You really do know your stuff, Fang!"

"Eheheh, it was nothing really… "

"Yeah, yeah, you two, we get it." Ira, eager as ever, reloads her firearm. "Now let's get back to it!"

She was right. Straight ahead, the giant hellhound is slowly walking toward us, howling up at the red-tinted sky. Looks like its charging up again. In that case…

"Demonic Bladestorm!"

With a running start, 1! 2! 3! Slashes to its hide! It tries to lean in for a bite, but I parry it away.

1! 2! 3! 4! More to the beast's left shoulder! It retaliates with a claw swipe, which I manage to roll under.

Spinning in place, I land another 5 slices, drawing more of the beast's blood before quickly hopping back.

In the corner of my eye, I see Lorica running up, weapon in hand, about to deliver a painful electrically-charged stab to the face, but she abruptly stops a few feet short. "Both of you, run! Right now!"

Ira and I both comply, narrowly avoiding the crimson lightning bolts that strike a split-second after.

"Whoa! What was that?!"

As always, my green-eyed comrade is quick to answer my question. "The Tyrant's Judgement; it's something I saw the regular Zinogre unleash several times in the past. Don't worry about trying to hit it for now! Just focus on not _getting_ hit!"

"You got it!"

"If ya insist, Goldie."

Another howl to the sky, and more tyrannical judgement rains down all around us. …Man, this lightning's really going to make things difficult. There's got to be a way to stop it, but I—

"ACK!"

OK! Dodge first, strategize later!

More bolts keep coming left and right with no discernable pattern in their strikes whatsoever. What may seem as a viable escape path at one moment may be a literal dead end the next. A killer workout if there ever was one. Seriously! Running back and forth on uneven ground, weight lifting (if you've got a heavy enough weapon), not to mention the 130-something degree temperatures. Feel the burn, anyone?

But despite that, the three of us fare fairly well in the not-getting-zapped department. The newly-recovered Ira manages to sneak in a shot or two every so often, while Lorica blocks all the ones she can't get out of the way quick enough. So far, so good, until—

_FWOOOM!_

Remember what I said a couple sentences ago? Now I'm really feeling the burn, courtesy of randomly erupting geyser of magma. Can you say,

"Uwaah! Hot! Hot! HOOOT!"

Let me tell you, human beings don't mix well with places of fire and Powderstone.

In the midst of their evasive maneuvers, my teammates take notice but are too far away to anything but shout "Look out!"

Clutching my burned side, I couldn't roll out of the as per the usual. My mind was screaming to, but my body wasn't going to have any of it. With my options narrowed, there's only one thing left to do: brace for impact.

I hold up my blades in a futile attempt to soften the blow…

_ZZZZT-ZZT-ZZT…_

…Which actually turns out to not be so futile after all. Looking down at my weapons, I see they're the ones sparking instead of me. They… absorbed the attack. Completely. …That's never happened before. Certainly didn't against ol' Pickle Tail. Maybe it was just too powerful? Who knows. But no matter! I'm not about to look this gift Kirin in the mouth. As the crimson storm subsides, an idea that may just be crazy enough to work begins forming.

"What the?! How did ya do that, Fang-face?!"

"I don't know exactly, but I think I've just had another eureka moment!"

"HUNH?! WHAT DID YOU SAY?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO REEKS, BONE-HEAD!"

"What?! I said 'eureka"! What does my smell have to do with anything?!" …Last I checked, I smelled just fine…

"…Oh, I see. Never mind then. Continue."

"Do either of you have a Pitfall Trap on hand, by any chance?"

With an eerie synchronicity, they both answer "No! Why do you ask!"

"I need to be able to reach its back somehow! I'd wait until we've knocked it down, but no luck with that so far!"

"Well, where there's a will," Lorica responds, "there's a way!"

She takes up Lightning Blaze once again and thrusts it repeatedly into our Stygian foe's front paws between intermittent claw swipes. It growls in pain, but shows no sign of falling in the slightest. It just enrages it even further, doing a backflip in air,

_WHAM!_

Before slamming tail-first back down to earth. But this time, it hits nothing but rock, which the Gunlancer quickly takes advantage of.

"Take this!" With a swift downward thrust, she pins the beast by its tail with her weapon. "Now's your chance, Fang! Do whatever you have to do!"

…Not quite what I had in mind, but it definitely works! Using the taloned-tail as a ramp, I run up to its sparking back fur with all I've got.

"Let see how you like this, Zinogre!"

And I plunge my blades deep into its hide. The rectally-ravaged dog immediately rears back in pain, moving erratically to try and literally get me off its back. All the while, a massive amount of draconic power surges from out its body and into my weapons. Just as I thought! If it worked on that lightning bolt, it should have a similar effect on the source! My body is soon shaking all over as my swords glow with absorbed crimson energy and… swarms of little insects start to fly off the Zin's back. …Didn't see that coming. "Wh-what in the world are these things?!"

"Bugs! Lots of them!

"Uh, I kinda figured that, Lorica! But what are they doin—GACK! Ugh, I think I got one in my mouth." …And that's the second time something like that's happened. Sure hope this doesn't become a pattern.

"They're the source of a Zinogre's powers! Normally they gather up Thunderbugs, but this one must've taken on a different species! Ones that absorb Dragon energy!"

"So basically, the big bad wolf gets its strength from the world's worst flea infestation?!"

"Pretty much!"

And just when I thought I couldn't get weirded out any more. Hunting. Your world is truly is strange one, I'll give you that. However, crazy as that was, not even that could prepare me for what happened next.

Black bolts soon start arcing to every mineral-rich rock nearby, as the beast beneath me continues to thrash around. And before I even have time to think "What in volcanic blazes is this?!", a large black explosion blasts me several feet away from me target.

"Unnh… What in volcanic blazes was that?..."

"Who knows, Fang-face, maybe your blades bit off more than they could chew. But forget that right now! It's getting away!"

Once again, Ira was right. With a light at the end of this pseudo-tunnel, the Zinogre makes a beeline for it with jagged, limping movements… at a surprisingly quick pace.

"After it!"

With my weapons blown out of my hands, I take them up once again and—

_Z-ZAP!_

Get shocked by a sharp jolt! Just holding onto my blades hurt as sparks kept burning into my hands. Are they overloading or something? …Eh, doesn't matter! C'mon, Fang, you can do this! You've felt much worse pain before! This is nothing!

Now it's an uphill battle, hunter vs. beast in heated footrace. It may be the last leg of this hunt, but after everything that's happened, the three of us were on our last legs ourselves. Ira runs full steam ahead, holding nothing back, but in doing so, I can see her stride is still adversely affected from her injuries. Lorica, being the heaviest armored of our group, brings up the rear, breathing heavily, but stubbornly perseveres. As for me, I'm basically just running on pure adrenaline and willpower at this point.

Our Stygian foe also soldiers on, limping past a strip of land in between two lakes of magma, but it stops in its tracks upon reaching a near-vertical slope. At first, it appears completely spent, but it promptly proves that wrong with a ridiculously high leap into the air. "Are you kidding me?! Haah…" My hands feel like they're on fire, but I can't let that get to me! C'mon! Just a little further!

We continue the strenuous ascent, treading quickly yet carefully across a precariously steep narrow passageway hundreds, if not thousands of feet above ground level. Don't get me wrong, that in and of itself is nerve-wracking, but nothing was going to stop us now! Coming to the end of the path, we then realize that things have literally have come full circle. We come face-to-snout with our target at our former landing site: the mouth of the Ignis Mons. Both sides are panting exhaustedly, but neither is willing to back down, staring each other down in the light of the lava falls. One way or another, it ends here.

The wolf, despite being drained of its draconic powers, leaps at us ferociously, fangs bared. This seems familiar. But I'm not about to get eaten again! My fellow hunters dodge off to the side, but not me. I hop back right as it impacts the ground and…

"You're finished!"

I plunge both my black sparking blades straight into its face!

_AWwwWOOoooOOOooOOOooo…._

The burning sensation in my hands begins to fade, as all the energy my swords absorbed stream through the beast's body and into the ground. That causes the Zin's body to convulse, tail flailing erratically, kicking up loose pebbles left and right. As it does so, I can spot a shining rock the size of my fist flying out of its mouth, before the beast collapses lifelessly to the ground.

"Nicely done!"

"Heh. Gotta admit, that was pretty cool there, Fang-face."

_QUEST COMPLETE!_

Looking back around, I see that said rock landed near the feet of Ira, who promptly snatches it up. "Wait a sec… Is this… It is! AAAAHAHAHAHAAH! PERFECT!"

Guess it's safe to assume that's the Skymerald she's looking for.

_DESIRE SENSOR THWARTED!_

_And so the hellhound hunt came to a close. Usually this is the point where we carve off our spoils, but we were in the mood to just collapse ourselves for a while. We were exhausted. Really exhausted. Like hit-on-the-head-by-a-giant-hammer-a-thousand-times exhausted. Despite the heat, we were perfectly content to take a minute or 30 to take a long-deserved breather. And we would've if it weren't for what happened next._

"Uh, do you two feel that?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Lor—WHOA!"

_RM-RM-RRRRM-RRRMM…_

Not even a minute after our victory, the ground beneath us starts rumbling. Hard.

"Wh-what is g-going on here?!"

"I-I'm n-not sure, Lorica, but…" Off in the distance a huge red-hot geyser shoots up, spraying bits of melted rock all around us. "I th-think this p-place is g-gonna blow!"

"SAY WHAT?!"

This… does not look good. "So, uh, a-anyone have any ideas?"

"Well, I guess we could just spread our wings and fly on outta here, but last I checked, NONE OF US ARE WYVERNS, BONE HEAD!"

Just then, another voice hijacks the conversation. "Luckily for you guys, I've got the ny-ext best thing!"

I could hardly believe it. "Is that what I think it is?!"

A large oval-shaped balloon casts a large shadow above us, as a Felyne drops down 3 knotted ropes off the deck's port side, shouting "GET TO DA AIRSHIP!"

It was like something out of a movie. "How did you cats get here so fast?! I thought you went back to town!"

"Actually, we stayed here purr-trolling the area! It's Guild regulation to stick nya-round during Volcano quests in case of an eruption! Get on!"

Didn't need to tell us that twice. Boarding the home-bound balloon-craft, we each escape disaster with not a moment to spare. As we fly off to safety, the lava overflows, covering the area with red-hot death. With a low, guttural rumble, it may not have been the most spectacular eruption, but it's definitely not something we'd want to stick around for.

_Yep, that's right, we almost got baked that day._ _Not the best way to end a hunt, but hey, we're alive and I'm not complaining. …But still, I wonder what could've caused that to happen. Major tectonic coincidence, or ominous omen? I've never been the superstitious type, but that timing was just uncanny. …Oh well, that's to ponder for another day. Because as soon as we got back from our hour-and-a-half long trip, we had an altogether more _pressing_ matter to deal with._

"Hey look! It's Fang! That's the guy who slew a Rathian with just one attack!"

"That scrawny kid in the middle?! No way! That's amazing!"

"Really now… Interesting. I must say he's… cuter than I imagined."

Not even 2 seconds out of the airship, and we're swarmed by a whole mess of people! My fellow hunters put forth their best effort to quell the crowd, Lorica through mediation and Ira with, well, mutilation, but they soon are carried away in the raging maelstrom of humanity. That leaves me at the eye of this hurricane, which, contrary to popular belief, is far from calm. As the deluge of people flows on, I could only utter a single sentence before being completely engulfed…

"S-something's… peeing… on my leg…"

**Author's Note: And chapter complete! Now this is usually the part where I shamelessly plug myself, but not this time! I'm here to introduce a little post-story section I like to dub Fang's Factoids! Let's face it, I can't always fit everything about the MH world I want to in the main story without it sounding out of place, so this is where that extra stuff goes! Worry not, though, as the chapters proper will still be chock-full of juicy info! So without further ado…**

_**And now it's time for… Fang's Factoids!**_

_**Factoid 1: Blights**_

OK, first factoid! There are currently 5 officially recognized conditions known as blights.As I mentioned before, the mysterious Dragonblight is a bit of a wild card, ranging in effect from weakening attack power to sealing off elemental properties in weapons, but as for the other 4, they have more consistent effects…

Fireblight: You're on fire. Simple as that. If you don't stop, drop, and roll, it could be the end of you. After all, flames searing into your flesh tend not to be good for your health.

Waterblight: You get waterlogged. With all that water weighing you down, you have to work harder moving around. That means it'll take more time for you to recover from strenuous activities like running or evading. Don't deal with it, and you'll be too tired to escape the impending sponge iguana, horned super whale, or what have you headed your way.

Thunderblight: Your body gets electrified. Electricity messes with your nervous system, interfering with your brain telling your muscles what to do. Get shocked enough, and you'll end up incapacitated for a short period of time. And when you're fighting giant monsters that want to eat you, that little span of time could make all the difference between life and death.

Iceblight: You start getting hypothermia. With your body temperature lowered, more energy is expended to keep you warm enough to function. As a result, you run out of steam faster. As is the case with Waterblight, getting winded at an inopportune time could mean a world of pain.

And that's blights in a nutshell. Believe me, none of them are particularly pleasant to go through, so always pack some Nulberries with you, if at all possible. It may just save your life.

Until next time, happy hunting!


	5. Stop! Hammer Time!

**Author's Note: The Legend continues! It feels good to be back writing things that aren't speeches or essays! Especially when the only research I have to do is playing video games. For any Pokemon fans who happen to be reading this, an update of my story All Fired Up should be on its way shortly, so stay tuned for that! Anyway, many thanks to Wood Dog for your advice! Your arboreal canine insights are much appreciated!**

I honestly can't tell you what the worst part is. The fact that I'm being suffocated, or the fact that it's at the hands, feet, and virtually every other body part of a bunch of heavily armored hunters trying to catch a glimpse of me. Or the fact that something just peed on my leg. For crying out loud, I just narrowly escaped becoming a Fang Flambé earlier. Can't I just take the rest of the day off?

"Outta my way! Coming through!"

All of a sudden, a familiar voice pierces through the crowd. …Or rather, plows through it like a hot Volvidon through hunters. I couldn't see a thing, but that's how it sounded with all the screams of people flying into the air. Line of sight clear, I can see the crowd-clearing cannonball is none other than a certain ruddy-haired blacksmith. With signature tool in hand and leather apron flapping dramatically in the wind, he utters the 3 immortal words:

_**Hunt 5: "Stop! Hammer Time!"**_

"Th-thanks for the save, Marcus!"

"Heh heh, no need to thank me, Fang. I've always wanted to say that! …Now where's the rest of your party?" Slinging his 6-foot hammer across his shoulder, he faces the crowd. "If you folks would kindly clear a path…" The remaining mass of people immediately and chaotically scatters. Understandable. With that kind of tool, no one would be even able to touch him. Left in their wake are my two teammates, rising to their feet once again. "Ah, there you are! What do ya say we go someplace a bit more private? I got a couple things you may wanna hear."

And so the four of us head walk off, receiving no shortage of stares as we make our exit. …Well, three of us, at least. Ira rushes on ahead, presumably to upgrade her firearm, if her excited cackling is anything to go by. Kind of abrupt if you ask me, but hey, I wasn't going to stop her. I've already met my head injury quota for the month. Regardless, one trip to the Marina later, our now-trio steps aboard the ship I've been sleeping on. After making sure no one outside our group is within earshot, Marcus starts things off… apologizing?

"Sorry about what happened back there. Loose-Lips Larry must've overheard our conversation about what happened yesterday and spread the word. Seriously, the guy keeps quiet about as well as he keeps his bladder under control. Must be all those Goldenfish Brews he keeps chuggin' down." …That explains a lot. Also, I'll be needing a shower ASAP. Again. "So, how'd your hunt with Gatling Girl go? Didn't cause too much trouble for you two, I hope."

"Don't worry, Marcus, we did just fine." Lorica responds, "She's quite the capable Gunner, I'll tell you that. She may be a hothead, but she's got good aim. Pretty light on her feet too."

"She's also good at fixing dislocated joints." Really, my back has never felt better.

"Well that's good to hear! I was worried that she'd've shot one of you by now!" Marcus lets out a hearty laugh.

"Uh, actually she did once, but she was just helping me out." But really, whoever first came up with the idea to deliver medicine through _bullets_ should be shot. "Like Lorica said, she has good aim. …When she is isn't being afflicted by Dragonblight, of course."

"Well, Dragon energy is some dangerous stuff. Between the monsters and weapons that make use of it, you just never know it's gonna do next. …WHICH REMINDS ME! I was digging around some more ancient texts and found out something I thought you might be interested in!" The leather-clad blacksmith clears his throat extra loud before continuing. "This ancient civilization I mentioned before! The one where those blades of yours came from! Apparently, they had a BIIIIIIG war against monsters back in their heyday. They were super-advanced and built a whole arsenal of giant superweapons for the express purpose of wyvern slaying. Now, I don't have all the details on how they worked, but they could take anything monsters threw at 'em and toss it right back twice as hard! And get this! The Ancient set? It turns out they're fragments of those things! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Interesting…" The green-eyed Gunlancer turns my way. "That would explain how your blades were able to absorb and discharge all that lightning."

"Yeah, that's true. But still, that thing with the Rathian… I'm still not quite sure how that could happen. And not only that, but just who were these people? What sort of technology did they use to make these things?"

"Can't say I know, unfortunately." Marcus sighs. "But! Just thinking about it fires up my curiosity! I have a feeling we might've stumbled upon something big here! Trust me, I'll get back to you if I find anything else, but for now, the mystery continues, I guess. ...Oh! And before I forget! Fang! You've had a request come in for you!"

"A… request? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, after Triple L let it slip that you slew ol' Queen Pinky, the guys in charge of the Arena immediately took notice and wanted to sign you up for an exhibition match!"

Ah, yes, the Arena. A huge coliseum where hunters from all over the world gather to watch hunters test their mettle against captured monsters. I've heard of it before, but having never actually been there, that's about all I know. Besides,

"Wait a sec, what?! Honestly, after today's hunt, I think I'd rather just—"

"No, no, I didn't mean today. You can rest easy. They're giving you a couple days to decide whether you want in. If you do decide to go through with it, you won't have to go it alone. You'll be able to get some backup!"

"Backup?"

"Well, the Arena allows a max of 2 hunters per fight, and this one is no exception!"

"I see. So do I get to choose who goes with me or…"

"Normally you would, but in this case, they already chose the participants. Something about a "battle of legends" or something along that line. Don't worry, though!" Marcus smiles. "I'm pretty sure you'd get along with your teammate just fine! …But ultimately the decision's yours. They can't force you." The blacksmith then turns toward the forge. "Welp! Either way, I gotta get back to work! Weapons won't make themselves! See ya!" And the hammer-wielding redhead dashes off blazingly fast. …Unsurprisingly, he trips over himself.

"…Well. That just happened."

"That it did, Lorica. That it did."

Guess there's only one thing left to do now.

"Uh, Fang? Are you trying to jump off the boat?"

"Oh yeah, I was just going to go for a little swim. Gotta wash off all this, well, everything."

"If that's what you're doing, then why don't you come over to my place? Water there's a bit less… fishy. Plus, I have soap."

"Soap does sound nice. Count me in."

Between that and taking a break from stabbing wolves, this was the best thing I've heard all day. Grabbing my change of clothes from the storage hut, I was all set to go! …But of course, the boat trip to her place…

_Bleugh!_

"Fang, you… feeling OK over there?"

Didn't go so well. Seriously, we hunters have medicine to neutralize dragon venom and supercharge the healing process, but nothing to combat the effects of seasickness. Bit of an oversight, if you ask me, but not much I can do now. At least the ride was over quick. Disembarking, we step foot onto a small island paved with cobblestone lined with rows upon rows of small houses. Rectangular in construction, sporting sloped roofs and similar blue-and-white color schemes, they were simple, yet sturdy and definitely fancier than anything back at Moga Village.

"Come on. This way."

Lorica takes me by the hand and promptly leads me over to her residence on the western shore.

"Welcome to my humble abode!"

Inside, I can see that the place is indeed on the smaller side, but she definitely maximizes the space she has. On the left, there's a 3-tiered wooden shelf, filled to the brim with books sandwiched between bookends made of various monster parts. Over on the right, an oval shaped coffee table with comfortable-looking chairs at both ends. Next to it is a small bed with lavender-colored sheets. Straight ahead is a narrow hallway ending in a door. But by far the most striking feature of the house was a giant fang statue in the back left corner. …No, not a statue of me, but a titanic tooth that's at least a foot taller that I am. Pretty impressive.

"Make yourself at home! Bathroom's past that door in the back."

"OK then. Thanks." Nice warm shower, here I come! Shut goes the door, off goes my armor and,

"Oh, Fang! I almost forgot to mention—"

"GAAAAAAAAAAH! C-C-C-COLD!"

"—That the hot water's not working."

…At least I got clean.

After that… invigorating experience, Lorica graciously offers me a blanket and a cup of a tea.

"Th-th-thanks again."

"No need. It's the least I could do. I didn't get a chance to mine for a new Firestone back at the Volcano with everything else going on."

"D-d-don't worry, I understand." I take a small sip of the aromatic beverage, and immediately starts to warm me up like a Hot Drink, except without that insect-y aftertaste. "Anyway, I have to ask, what's with the big tooth in the back?"

"Oh, that? That's from a monster called the Jhen Mohran I helped hunt a few years ago."

"You mean the humongous sand fish that people hold a festival for every time one rolls around?"

"Yep. That's the one! It really is a sight to behold in person; it absolutely dwarfs just about every monster out there! Having it make an appearance was considered quite the good omen… until one came along and destroyed most of Loc Lac. Thankfully, everyone evacuated in time and no one was hurt, but the incident left most everyone out of house and home. That's when people like me and Marcus moved over here to Port Tanzia."

"Oh… I see." That escalated quickly. "So, what was life like before that? I remember you mentioned you hunted with a different team in the past. What were they like?"

She pauses for a moment, hesitating. "Well, we all grew up together, for starters. I was the lone girl out of our group of four, but I didn't really run into any problems about that. With our members ranging from reserved to rambunctious, our main issue was teamwork. I mean, on a personal level, we got along just fine, but when it came to putting a plan together, we stunk worse than a week-old Dung Bomb. Basically, everyone just went off and did their own thing. We failed more quests than we completed. Then one day, we had a pretty nasty encounter with a Zinogre. I won't go into the gory details, but we ended up in pretty bad shape. We were all able make it out alive, thankfully, but none of us were kicking after that. When it was all said and done, I was the only one left even willing to go hunting again, let alone able to."

"Wow, I had no idea…"

"Yeah, it was pretty rough. I definitely could've used someone like you back then, Fang."

"What do you mean by that exactly?"

"Oh, you know, a smart, intelligent person who knows how to strategize and what sort of things are edible. Seriously, first quest we ever took, one of our members had the _bright_ idea to determine what kind of mushroom something was by _tasting _it. …You can probably imagine how well that one went."

"Not that well, I'm guessing. But thanks." And almost immediately, a question came to mind. "…Hey, come to think of it, why did you join up with me in the first place? It's something I've been wondering for a while now."

"Remember when you said you've been hunting solo for quite some time? Well, for years, that was me. All that time, I've been looking for a new team hunt with, but I hadn't had much luck. It was hard. No matter how skilled a hunter someone is, going it alone can only get you so far. And then I remembered all the things I mentioned about my previous team. About how their hunting careers got cut short in the most painful way possible. After what happened to you, I wasn't about to stand by and allow that to happen again. Not while I could do something about it."

"So that's why." I couldn't help but smile a little. "You're a protector."

"A… protector?"

"Yeah, someone willing to fight for the sake of others. At least that's what I call it. ...Well, me and… and…"

"You and… what, Fang?"

… "Oh, nothing. It's nothing. I'm just… glad I met you, Lorica. There really aren't that many people like you around anymore." And with those words, I finish off the last of my tea before setting the cup back down on the table.

Lorica stares at me for a moment, looking as if she's about to say something, but she ultimately doesn't. Not one to let awkward silences to linger for very long, she then quickly rises to feet. "Well then! I don't really have anything planned for the rest of the day, so… what do you want to do now?"

"That's… a really good question, actually."

"Do you have a hobby of some sort? Like, say, fishing?"

"I was never really all that good at fishing. I know Moga's a seaside village and all, but I just could never get the hang of it. I've even tried yelling 'BITE ME!' while shaking the rod around, but even that didn't work."

"O… K… Guess fishing's out of the question. Is there something else?"  
"Well, I am pretty good at swimming. You want to race or something?"

"Bodies of water and heavy metal armor don't really mix well, so… I never actually learned how."

"I could teach you!"

"Oh no, it's fine, I wouldn't want to impose. Plus, I'm still feeling a little tired from earlier. Maybe another time." She finishes off her cup of tea and lets out a sigh, as if to emphasize that point before continuing. "So, besides swimming and hunting, what do you do with you free time? I've always liked digging into a good book myself."

"Um… Sleeping, I guess?"

"...No seriously. What do you like to do?"

"I am serious. I enjoy taking a nap every once in a while. And eating too, of course. There is that."

"…You're joking. There's got to be something else."

"Well, I also breathe, but I don't really think that counts..."

"Oh, I see." That's what her mouth said, but her expression just screamed 'You poor thing! What have you been doing with your life all this time?' "If that's the case then… what do you say to solving a few monster riddles?"

"That sounds like fun!"

"Great!" She clears her throat. "OK! _Heads or tails, it can be hard to tell, / When it sucks your blood, it starts to swell. / Its abilities include making poison and eggs, / And powerful wings attached to its legs_."

"That one's easy. It's the Gigginox!"

"…I know I've said this a bunch of times, but you really do know your stuff, Fang! You're right!"

Yep, I'm definitely in my element here. "What can I say, I know my monsters. But now, I believe I've got one for you, Lorica! _Unlike the dragon that's hidden, I choose to crouch, / whether in sand or in snow, I am no slouch. / You'll fight me saber to saber, tooth and nail, / if I am the foe you wish to assail_."

She blinks a couple times before responding. "That's a good one… Hmm… Is it… the Nargacuga? It mainly lives in the forest, but it does have those sharp blade-like wings."

"Good guess, but that's not it!"

"I had a feeling it wasn't…" Brow furrowed, she ponders the answer for a little while longer before saying, "Then is it… the Deviljho? That thing pops up in pretty much every hunting ground out there."

"Nope, wrong again, I'm afraid! Want one more guess?"

"I would, but I can't really think of anything else at the moment. Is it some newly-discovered monster?"

"Nope! It's the Barioth! It lives over in snowy places, but there is a desert dwelling subspecies! Plus, he's basically a sabertooth tiger with wings!"

"Oh, right, the Barioth! I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"Yeah, I nearly froze my butt off fighting one of those things before. No way I'm forgetting that." Seriously, I was starting to get frostbite down there. "But that was years ago. Anyway! Your turn!"

"OK then! Just give me a moment. I'll come up with one that'll stump you, Mr. Monster Expert!"

"Heh heh! I look forward to it!"

_We continued playing that riddle game the rest of the afternoon. I must say, it was some of the most fun I've had in a long time. Once we ran out of riddles to tell and the sun had set, we stepped outside to enjoy the gentle Tanzian seabreeze and view of the night sky above. …Mostly because we weren't about to squeeze together into one tiny bed, but still. It was nice. Very calming. It was a nice end to a day that I didn't really want to end. And before I knew it, we fell sound asleep under the stars._

**Author's Note: It might be a couple years late to be saying this, but RIP Monster Hunter Tri Wi-Fi servers. You will not soon be forgotten.**

_**And now it's time for… Fang's Factoids!**_

_**Factoid 2: Miscellaneous Monsters**_

We covered a lot of monsters in my game with Lorica. And I mean a lot. I didn't want to drag out this chapter any longer than I had to, so I thought I'd just sum up all the ones we covered, albeit in a less riddle-y form. They also happen to be monsters I mentioned before, but didn't go into much detail about, so two bird wyverns with one Stone! Let's get started!

Jaggi: Carnivorous raptor-like creatures that are common in several hunting grounds. Regular males are small and mostly orange and pink in color, whereas the females are larger and sport a grayer complexion. The alpha male, or Great Jaggi, shares its color scheme with its non-alpha counterparts, but is much larger and possesses a rather prominent frill around its neck.

Rhenoplos: Stout gray ankylosaurs with a penchant for ramming into things with their hard heads. These creatures are extremely territorial and will ram into perceived intruders indiscriminately. However, even if giant monsters like a Qurupeco or a Deviljho are tearing up the place, people always seem to wind up being the primary targets of their wrath. Due to this behavior, they, along with the boar-like Bullfango, are considered to be the bane of many a hunter's existence.

Aptonoth: Ubiquitous saurian herbivores with a single forked horn for protection. About as near the bottom of the food chain as you can get with 4 legs, this gray gentle giant is the meat of choice for many monsters and hunters alike. However, some have also been domesticated for use as beasts of burden. Aptonoth can get to colossal sizes, growing even larger some large monsters, like the aforementioned Great Jaggi, though it still remains a non-threat to even novice hunters.

Gargwa: A plump, feathery herbivore which is best described as a cross between a duck and an ostrich. Much like the Aptonoth, it too is fit for consumption and labor, though not quite as commonly used due to is comparatively smaller size. When scared, they have a tendency to lay their eggs right on the spot, which make for some massive omelets.

Felyne: Talking cats with intelligence on par with humans. They prefer bipedal posture most of the time, but do run on all fours. Unlike most other monsters, Felynes are one of the few species considered sentient. Though there are plenty of wild Felynes, many coexist alongside people in society as near-equals, most often as hunting companions. Also, there are two varieties, the regular Felyne and the kleptomaniac Melynx. The former is usually cream in color, the latter usually black, though more unusual fur colors such as blue and green are not unheard of. Both species just go absolutely crazy for Felvine and appear to have an inherent need to talk in cat puns.

Barroth: A hulking brown dinosaur monster that bulldozes the opposition with its mace-like head. Despite its fearsome appearance, the Barroth is primarily an insectivore, busting open hives of giant bugs whenever it gets peckish. Likes wallowing in mud.

Congalala: A big pink baboon monster that often holds food in its prehensile tail. It also likes to fart. A lot. …Not much else to say about it, other than its butt turning a bright red whenever it gets enraged.

Yian Kut-Ku: A pink-hued avian dragon with a rounded yellow beak, reminiscent of a chicken. It sports prominent and perceptive ears which are highly sensitive to sound, and though it can spit fireballs at enemies, it doesn't have a very ferocious reputation. It may have something to do with its comical running stance or tendency to trip over itself often. It can still be quite the wake-up call for newbie hunters though. Tastes great fried.

Kirin: A white horse creature boasting a prominent sharp horn and power over lightning. Basically, it's a unicorn. These things are ridiculously fast, charging savagely at hunters incapacitated by its jolts of electricity. Their hard hide is nigh-impossible to cut; the head and horn are the only real vulnerable points, which can be really hard to hit as it prances circles around you. Due to its striking resemblance to the smaller deer-like Kelbi, many hunters have dubbed the monster the "Kelbidrome".

Brachydios: An indigo saurian with a rounded horn reminiscent of a pompadour. Its main claim to fame is the green slime it spreads with its horn and boxing-glove-like fists. Said slime is a form of mold which reacts with its saliva to explode. Painfully. As such, the Brachydios licks itself quite often before attacking. It also happens to be the monster from which Ira's armor is made from.

Diablos: A tan two-horned beast with a notoriously bad temper. When it isn't charging at things head on or clubbing things with its tail, this desert dweller just loves to burrow underground and play the world's most painful game of peekaboo. But the most well-known characteristic of this demonic beast is its ear-splitting shriek. It is the stuff of nightmares.

Plesioth: A scaly aquatic monster with large webbed wing-fins and a shark-like head. It really likes to hang out underwater and shoot out jets of high-pressure water from its mouth, though it can walk on land with its two legs if needed. This monster species is infamous in the hunting world for hitting hunters with its hip, even when it seems like it shouldn't reach. Theories range from strange scale-induced light refraction to outright dimension-breaking powers, though the phenomenon ultimately remains unexplained. Has a fondness for eating frogs.

…And I think that should about cover it! I know that was a lot of info to digest, but I hope it proved useful! Until next time, happy hunting!


End file.
